“Michael [Bay] is amazingly involved at every level of the CGI production. He gets very, very involved with us as soon as he’s done shooting it, as he’s editing.” So claims ILM Visual Effects Producer Wayne Billheimer in a new behind the scenes look at the process for editing “Transformers: Age of Extinction.” Given just how horrible the fourth Transformers installment is, that doesn’t end up as the praise Billheimer intended (here at The Playlist, we chose ‘Age of Extinction’ as the 18th worst film of the year).
The video, titled “Transformers 4: The Final Touches,” is surprisingly well-rounded given how lousy the movie is. It opens with Billheimer and Bay discussing their approach to integrating CGI —no minor element in the ‘Transformers’ series. Sometimes they were all on the West Coast together, and sometimes Bay headed back to his Miami home and the team worked remotely. Billheimer described how they use an “open window to [their] network” that allows the team to meet in real-time. Bay can act out scenes for the team, and they can chat, review video, and make edits from thousands of miles apart.
We get to hear a little bit about Bay’s methodology for directing his cast, with a particular focus on the Autobots’ voice talent. Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime) apparently channels memories of his brother, a Marine, to help bring the head of the Autobots to life.
‘The Final Touches’ even dips its toe into scoring the franchise. “Extinction” composer Steve Jablonsky talks about trying his best to pair the exciting visuals —his words, not ours— with the music that he already started writing for the film. According to Jablonsky, Bay doesn’t always go for the massive action audiences might expect. He wants to emphasize the emotion… right! Even rock band Imagine Dragons, who lend their talents to the blockbuster, appear in the video. Group member Dan Reynolds talks about how a few of the Dragons were film score majors, so they were incredibly stoked for what felt “like a jam session” with Jablonsky.
The 22-minute video first appeared on Michael Bay’s site. Even if you absolutely hated the movie, this insider look at bringing a heavily-CGI movie to the screen might be an interesting watch). Check it out below [via Collider].